acting 1 of 3

as in interim
serving in a position for the time being will serve as acting president of the university until a permanent replacement can be found

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acting

2 of 3

noun

acting

3 of 3

verb

present participle of act
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2
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as in serving
to have a certain purpose the tail feathers of woodpeckers act as props while the birds excavate tree trunks for insects

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5
6
as in mocking
to pretend to be (what one is not) in appearance or behavior someone who is willing to act the helpless little thing when she wants attention

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acting
Adjective
The five members of the committee are human rights advocate Jørgen Watne Frydnes, foreign policy scholar Asle Toje, former acting Norwegian Prime Minister Anne Enger, former Norwegian Minister of Education Kristin Clemet, and former Norwegian Foreign Affairs Secretary Gry Larsen. Max Rego, The Hill, 9 Oct. 2025 Leanne Kao, a city engineer and acting project manager, gave an update on plans to upgrade Dusty Rhodes Park, just south of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard from Robb Field. Steven Mihailovich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2025
Noun
Riva had a strong acting career in New York. Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025 Off set, the noise is deafening for Sweeney, who became a household name over the past two years thanks to a red-hot acting career as well as an American Eagle jeans ad that launched a thousand hot takes. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
As previously reported by Variety, DiCaprio and Infiniti will compete in the lead acting categories across all groups during awards season, while the rest of the cast will seek consideration in supporting roles. Clayton Davis, Variety, 24 Oct. 2025 Moreno spent her early years in Puerto Rico before launching an acting career that would make her the third person to earn the prestigious EGOT. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 24 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for acting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acting
Adjective
  • Ausberry was promoted to the interim job in Woodward’s place, and the board gave him the authority to lead the coaching hire.
    Chris Vannini, New York Times, 5 Nov. 2025
  • By mid-season, he was named interim manager when the Jays trudged to a 46-42 record in the first few months and manager Charlie Montoyo got the axe.
    Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Some are made for entertainment or education, while others focus on emotional support or companionship.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Headquartered in London, Longwave will focus on factual content for the global TV market across all unscripted genres – from investigative series, factual entertainment formats through to human interest stories.
    Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The Bucks did exactly what Antetokounmpo asked, playing the Warriors tough all night and eventually pulling out a win behind a career-high 32 points from Ryan Rollins.
    Eric Nehm, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
  • It’s taken time, Fonseca admits, to grow accustomed to playing in front of such raucous crowds.
    George Ramsay, CNN Money, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Of those, about 44,000 were working adults and 42,000 were working for an employer, according to the report.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2025
  • Singaporean transit company ComfortDelGro, meanwhile, is working with Pony AI to explore offering robotaxis, while Lyft is collaborating with Baidu to test its Apollo Go self-driving cars in Europe.
    Sydney Lake, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • This is about the message sent, with nobody on defense seeming to care as much as those on the offense victimized by the failures.
    Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Silicon Valley giants announce huge AI spending sprees Silicon Valley giants announced huge AI spending sprees, drawing divergent market reactions — while seeming to ease fears of a major market correction.
    Semafor Events, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The event will feature stories from veterans and their families, patriotic music and updates from groups serving local veterans, such as the nonprofit Honor Flight and Patriot Guard.
    Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Brockman is leading the most ambitious (and expensive) infrastructure buildout in tech history, serving as the behind-the-scenes architect translating Altman’s vision into hardware, investment, and political capital.
    Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
  • People just pretending, and so on.
    Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • The president has spent much of the shutdown mocking Democrats, posting videos of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries in a Mexican sombrero.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Netflix’s true-crime documentaries have a recognizable sheen to them—the streamer even released a comedy series mocking its take on the genre.
    Paula Mejía, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Acting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acting. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

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